Oilers Make Another Quiet Forward Move That Could Matter

The Edmonton Oilers bolster their roster with the strategic signing of Latvian forward Eduards Tralmaks, hinting at further tactical maneuvers.

The Edmonton Oilers added another forward to the mix Wednesday, signing Eduards Tralmaks to a one-year, $850,000 contract.

Tralmaks, 29, comes in after a productive run with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League in the 2025-26 season. The undrafted Latvian scored 26 goals and finished with 42 points in 64 games, which put him fourth on the team in scoring.

He also made a mark on the international stage in February at the Winter Games. Playing for Latvia in Milan-Cortina, Tralmaks posted three goals and an assist in four games.

Despite that production, he has yet to appear in an NHL game.

His path has been a long one. Tralmaks spent four seasons at the University of Maine from 2017-18 through 2020-21, then played parts of three seasons with the Providence Bruins. He has 151 career AHL games on his résumé, along with three ECHL games with the Maine Mariners.

Tralmaks also spent two seasons in Czechia with the Kladno Knights before returning to North America. In 100 games with Kladno, he scored 44 goals and totaled 83 points.

The move comes during a busy stretch for Edmonton in free agency. The biggest transaction to this point sent Darnell Nurse to the San Jose Sharks for Shakir Mukhamadullin and defensive prospect Zack Sharp, while the Oilers did not retain any of Nurse’s $9.25 million cap hit.

They also brought in former Pittsburgh Penguins blueliner Ryan Shea on a five-year deal worth $4 million per season to address the left side, and added goalie prospect Devon Levi from the Buffalo Sabres for a 2028 third-round pick and a 2028 seventh-round pick.

With the Nurse deal opening up more room, general manager Stan Bowman now has about $16 million in cap space and could still have more work ahead in the coming hours and days.

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